San Francisco's Ferry Building Marketplace is a compendium of gourmet food vendors, restaurants, and retail naturally evolved from the longstanding farmer's market that was held in the Embarcadero locale. If you find yourself downtown, the soaring ceilings leftover from the building's past as a terminal for transbay ferries make for a great destination to shop European-style or to lunch on some of California's finest artisanal foods.

During Summer months from 4pm-8pm the Ferry Building hosts a Thursday Night Market, an event that gathers a cast of local farmers and merchants in what has become something of a tradition for farmer's markets. Running through at least October, it's a perfect appetizer for dinner at the famed Vietnamese spot The Slanted Door, also housed in the building.